Texas Southern edges Alabama A&M 65-61

HOUSTON – Harrison Smith scored 18 points and Texas Southern held off Alabama A&M 65-61 on Saturday to retain a share of first place in the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

Travele Jones scored 15 points and Lawre Johnson-Danner and Kevin Galloway had 11 points each for the Tigers (9-10, 7-1), who will remain atop the league along with the winner of Saturday's Jackson State-Mississippi Valley State game.

Bo Amusa led the Bulldogs (8-9, 5-3 Southwestern Athletic) with 16 points and Cornelius Hester added 15, but he struggled from the field, making just 6 of 20 shots.

Alabama A&M, which trailed 34-30 at the half, made a run at Texas Southern in the second half, tying it at 54 with 4:01 remaining. Texas Southern reeled off the next seven points for a 61-54 lead, capped by dunks from Jones and Galloway. The Bulldogs got as close as 61-59 with 46 seconds left, but the Tigers hit four free throws to close it out.